Children of prisoned Iranian activist Narges Mohammadi accept Nobel Peace Prize on her behalf

The children of Imprisoned Iranian activist Narges Mohammadi accepted the 2023 Nobel Peace Prize on her behalf. On Sunday, the prestigious felicitation ceremony of the Nobel Peace Prize took place in Oslo, Euro News reported. Mohammadi who is a renowned activist is a staunch opponent of the mandatory wearing of the hijab by women and of the death penalty in Iran. She was conferred with the prestigious award in October this year, for her decades of activism despite numerous arrests by Iranian authorities.

In the Sunday ceremony, Mohammadi was represented by her children who are currently living in exile in Paris with their father. Ali and Kiana Rahmani, Mohammadi’s twin 17-year-old children accepted the award at the prestigious event which took place in the Oslo City Hall. The twins not only accepted the Peace Prize but also read a speech she managed to get transmitted from the prison. A day before the event, Kiana Rahmani,  Mohammadi’s daughter read out a message on her mother’s behalf at a new conference in Oslo. In the message, the Nobel laureate applauded the role of International media in “conveying the voice of dissenters,” Euro News Reported.

“Iranian society needs global support and you, journalists and media professionals, are our greatest and most important allies in the difficult struggle against the destructive tyranny of the Islamic Republic government. I sincerely thank you for your efforts, for all you’ve done for us,” Mohammadi said in her note which was read by her daughter. At the news conference, Kiana said that she holds “little hope” of seeing her mother again. “Maybe I’ll see her in 30 or 40 years, but I think I won’t see her again. But that doesn’t matter, because my mother will always live on in my heart, values that are worth fighting for,” she told the local reporters present at the conference.

Mohammadi on hunger strike during the ceremony

During the Sunday ceremony, the peace prizewinner was observing a hunger strike expressing her solidarity with the Baha'i community. The struggling community is touted as Iran’s largest religious minority and has claimed to be discriminated against in many areas of society. The 51-year-old activist was already in fragile health after she stopped eating for several days in early November. At that time she was demanding the right to be transferred to the hospital without covering her head.

The Nobel Peace Prize winner came to prominence after she played a leading role in the nationwide protest in Iran which was triggered following the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini. With this felicitation ceremony, Mohammadi became the 19th woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize and the second Iranian woman to be felicitated by the honour. The first Iranian woman to win the award was human rights activist Shirin Ebadi won the award in 2003. Another interesting fact that emerged out of the 2023 event was that it was the fifth time in the 122-year history of the awards that the Peace Prize was given to someone who is serving a prison sentence or is under house arrest.